Yoku's Island Express

As has become tradition on Nintendo consoles, Yoku’s is an indie title that stands on level footing with some premium offerings in the eShop. Don’t let this one roll past you as you scroll through the different games on offer for Switch, as it’s a genuine delight.

If a pinball ball is a piece of dung in disguise that postman rolls over a mysterious island in order to save a divine guardian from a godslayer, and it's NOT a dream... Then it's Yoku's Island Express! An excellent and gorgeous game you should not miss for a world.

Yoku's Island Express is a delight, plain and simple. It's gorgeous, plays beautifully, and I hope it's the start of a new franchise, because I want to play a lot more of this.

Its charming story and characters keep you smiling as the game continues to challenge you while its hidden areas and collectibles will keep you coming back for more. Whether you’re a fan of pinball machines, metroidvania or puzzle games, Yoku’s Island Express delivers class in every area for every type of player.

As you watch Yoku’s ball fling the dung beetle helplessly across Mokumana Island for the hundredth time, it’s hard not to come to the realisation that Yoku’s Island Express is a rare and special treat. This part-open world pinball adventure game, part-Metroidvania likely baffled when the idea was discussed early on but has been created with such careful precision that the end result is nothing short of sensational.

Yoku's Island Express is a genuine breath of fresh air, combining pinball and Metroidvania mechanics in a way that feels truly inspired. Add in one of the most appealing fantasy worlds you'll find on the eShop, and you have yourself an instant left-field classic.

Yoku’s Island Express is a delightful adventure filled with charming characters, an innovative blend of platforming and pinballing action, and a wonderful treat for the eyes and ears. It’s the sort of wholesome game that makes me feel like a proud parent of all of the people who worked so hard on this beautiful piece of escapism.

With its charming and unique pinball mechanics that get subtly, cleverly more complex and elaborate the further you progress — as well as a charming art-style present in its environments and characters alike — what it lacks in some grandiose narrative or punctuating tone, Villa Gorilla more than make up for with a gameplay loop that excels on its originality — garnering a wide smile to one’s face in the process.

A strong contender for the best Metballpintroidvania of all time! [Issue #39 – May/June 2019, p. 24]

5 years of development have lead to the creation of this beautiful and imaginative platformer which combines pinball mechanics with a metroidvania structure, sprinkled with charming characters, colorful environments and an island that feels alive.

Yoku's Island Express brilliantly combines two genres that a priori seemed difficult to go hand in hand: Pinball and Metroidvania games. And it does it so well that time flies while one has fun exploring the island, mastering the use of the levers, learning new moves and retracing our steps to get extras.

Like a unique cocktail, Yoku's Island Express mixes with taste, and in intelligent way, the typical elements from metroidvania adventures with pinball's game mechanics, yielding as a result a very enjoyable and addictive game that feels unique and is very fun. A game that those who are tired from the same formulas will enjoy the most.

Yoku’s Island Express is kind of a testament to the power of positivity. Sure, it’ll leave you frustrated at times. But it’s frustration borne out of wanting to experience more of this delightful world, and that’s more than enough to keep me pushing through those brief moments of annoyance.

Who said Metroidvania and pinball can’t exist in the same game? Yoku’s Island Express shows the opposite by being a great game, thanks to very uncommon and never frustrating gameplay.

Yoku's Island Express combines pinball with exploration in an irresistibly charming and gorgeous adventure game.

Featuring a fun and simple pinball mechanic that sits perfectly on its 2D platform qualities, Yoku's Island Express is a simple but fun addition to the Nintendo Switch catalogue that is certain to bring some hours of fun to its players, even if its lifespan could use some extension. Not a game to disregard as another Metroidvania type.

It's almost tempting to say that this feels like the combination of pinball and platforming that Sonic The Hedgehog wishes it was. [Aug 2018, p.108]

This is a strange concept that works great. This “pinballvania” offers a unique experience for those who are looking for a different platformer.

Yoku’s Island Express is a great game. Combining Metroidvania exploration with pinball gameplay was an interesting decision that paid off big time. Despite its short length, Yoku’s Island Express is still a complete adventure, one that is relaxing and an absolute pleasure to take in. Anyone seeking a more laid back Metroidvania title with beautiful sights and sounds should play Yoku’s Island Express.

A strangely successful mix of genres that plays both a mean pinball and a highly competent game of Metroidvania, and all wrapped up in some utterly charming presentation.

Yoku's Island Express is wholly unique - a seamless blend of platformer, pinball, and puzzle game that never outstays its welcome our wears out its charming visual style. Highly recommended. NOTE: Our copy was provided by Team17 for review purposes.

Beyond its colorful and cartoonesque visuals, Yoku's Island Express delivers a strong Metroidvania experience mixed with flipper mechanics. This generous and smart adventure keeps a balanced challenge from start to finish, and mixes typical flipper challenges with deep exploration gameplay. Despite a binary system of flippers and few bosses, Yoku's Island Express is a good ride with a fresh tone.

Retreading completed areas while hunting for secrets can occasionally get stale, but Yoku’s Island Express has a refreshingly positive attitude that kept me smiling the whole way through.

Yoku's Island combines an old genre with a new gameplay. if you like metroidvania style games, you should try that one too.

With its pinball mechanics, it's a novel, albeit short-lived, twist on the Metroidvania. [July 2018, p.81]

Yoku’s Island Express has a lot of fantastic ideas. It plays with its pinball formula enough to keep what could’ve been repetitive endlessly new and engaging, and it wraps all that up in its beautiful and unexpectedly deep world. Unfortunately, every good idea is slightly undermined by its glaring lack of real challenge, turning its otherwise fantastic design into more of a chore than it really should have been. It’s a nice change of pace from the likes of Hollow Knight and Steamworld Dig 2, but I don’t think Yoku quite has what it takes to stand up as equals alongside them.

Yoku’s Island Express is far from bad. It has great ideas, a very good soundtrack, and competent gameplay. But while there’s not too much actively wrong with it, it doesn’t do anything exceptionally well either. It’ll do.